1. Technical Field to which the Invention Belongs
This invention relates to a connector fitting structure in which a half-fitted condition is positively prevented by a resilient force of a resilient member provided in at least one of a pair of female and male connectors to be mutually fitted together. The connector can be positively locked to the mating connector in a fitted condition, and a cancellation operation can be easily effected.
2. Related Art
Usually, many pieces of electronic equipment are mounted on a vehicle, such as an automobile. Various cables for supplying power to these equipments and for controlling these equipments, as well as female and male connectors for connecting these cables, are extensively used. Such female and male connectors have a waterproof function in view of a possibility that these connectors will be used in a severe environment involving vibrations and submergence. Also, in view of an assembling process and their maintenance, these connectors also have a function by which the connection and disconnection of the cables can be effected easily. There have been proposed various connector fitting structures capable of detecting a mutually-fitted condition of female and male connectors.
One example of such general connector fitting structures will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12.
As shown in FIG. 10, a male connector (one connector) 60 of the general connector fitting structure 51 includes an inner housing 62 which has terminal receiving chambers and is open to the front side thereof (arrow A shows front side and fitting direction); and an outer housing 61 which has a slider 70 (described later) slidably mounted therein above the inner housing, and forms a hood portion covering the outer periphery of the inner housing 62.
As shown in FIG. 10, a male connector (one connector) 60 of the general connector fitting structure 51 includes an inner housing 62 which has terminal receiving chambers and is open to the front side thereof; and an outer housing 61 which has a slider 70 (described later) slidably mounted therein above the inner housing, and forms a hood portion covering the outer periphery of the inner housing 62.
A pair of housing locks 68 for respectively retaining engagement projections 93 (see FIG. 10) of a mating housing 91 (described later) are formed respectively on upper surfaces of the distal ends of the lock arms 66. A pressing portion 69, which is operated when canceling the fitting connection, is provided on the upper surface of the lock arms 66 at a generally central portion thereof.
A pair of retaining arms 67 for temporarily preventing the rearward movement of the slider 70 are provided at a rear portion of the slider receiving portion 63, and extend rearwardly in the fitting direction, and each of the retaining arms 67 has a retaining projection 67a formed at a rear end (free end) thereof.
The slider 70 includes: a first slide member 71, which is guided by the guide grooves 65 so as to slide within the slider receiving portion 63; a second slide member 76 engaged with a rear portion of the first slide member 71; and compression springs (resilient members) 83 held on the second slide member 76.
The first slide member 71 includes: a pair of stopper arm portions 73 and 73, which extend rearwardly, are abutted respectively against one ends of the compression springs 83; and an interconnecting portion 74 interconnecting the stopper arm portions 73. An abutment portion 75, against which a pressing rib 92 of a female connector 90 (described later) can abut, is formed at a lower surface of the interconnecting portion 74. A pair of slide grooves 72 and 72 for allowing the movement of engagement arm portions 78 (described later) of the second slide member 76 are formed in opposite ends of the interconnecting portion 74.
The second slide member 76 includes retaining portions 77 which extend forwardly. Outer side portions of retaining portion 77 are slidably fitted in the guide grooves 65, respectively. The distal ends of the retaining portion 77 respectively retain the housing locks 68 which are formed respectively at the distal ends of the lock arms 66, when the lock arms are displaced. An elastic operating portion 79 which is operated when canceling the fitting connection is formed on a central portion of the upper side of the second slide member 76. When the slider 70 is inserted into the slider receiving portion 63, the operating portion 79 covers the pressing portion 69 of the lock arms 66 from above. distal ends of the retaining portion 77 respectively retain the housing locks 68 which are formed respectively at the distal ends of the lock arms 66, when the lock arms are displaced. An elastic operating portion 79 which is operated when canceling the fitting connection is formed on a central portion of the upper side of the second slide member 76. When the slider 70 is inserted into the slider receiving portion 63, the operating portion 79 covers the pressing portion 69 of the lock arms 66 from upward.
The pair of engagement arm portions 78 and 78, retained respectively by the stopper arm portions 73 of the first slide member 71, are formed respectively at opposite side walls of the second slide member 76. Spring receiving chambers 81 for respectively receiving the compression springs 83 are formed respectively in the opposite side portions of the second slide member 76.
The female connector (the other connector) 90 includes a housing insertion port 94 open to the front side thereof(opposite to arrow A). The pressing rib 92 for abutting against the abutment portion 75 of the first slide member 71 is formed upright on an upper surface of the housing 91 at a central portion thereof. The pair of engagement projections 93 and 93 are formed respectively at opposite side portions of the pressing rib 92, and these engagement projections 93 and 93 elastically deform the lock arms 66, respectively, and engage the housing locks 68, respectively.
Next, the operation for fitting the male and female connectors 60 and 90 of the above connector fitting structure 51 together will be described.
First, the slider 70 is assembled as shown in FIG. 10. More specifically, for assembling the slider 70, the pair of compression springs 83 are inserted respectively into the spring receiving chambers 81 in the second slide member 76, and then the first slide member 71 and the second slide member 76 are combined together, with the stopper arm portions 73 of the first slide member 71 held respectively in the spring receiving chambers 81.
Then, for mounting the slider 70 on the male connector 60, the slider 70 is inserted into the slider receiving portion 63 from the front side of the male connector 60. At this time, the opposite side portions of the stopper arm portions 73 of the first slide member 71, the opposite end portions of the interconnecting portion 74 and the opposite side portions of the second slide member 76 are fitted in the guide grooves 65. And the rear end of the second slide member 76 is brought into engagement with the retaining arms 67, thus completing the mounting of the slider 70.
Next, the operation for fitting the male and female connectors 60 and 90 of the above general connector fitting structure 51 together will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12.
The inner housing 62 of the male connector 60 and the housing insertion port 94 in the female connector 90 are opposed to each other, and in this condition the male and female connectors begin to be fitted together in such a manner that the outer housing 61 of the male connector 60 is fitted on the housing 91 of the female connector 90, as shown in FIG. 11. At this time, the pressing rib 92 of the female connector 90 is fitted into an insertion notch 77a (see FIG. 10) of the second slide member 76, and the front end of the pressing rib 92 is brought into abutting engagement with the abutment portion 75 of the first slide member 71.
Then, while pushing the first slide member 71, the pressing rib 92 of the female connector 90 is inserted into an insertion space 66a (see FIG. 10) between the lock arms 66 of the male connector 60, as shown in FIG. 12. At this time, the engagement projections 93 at the front end of the pressing rib 92 are brought into sliding contact respectively with slanting surfaces of the housing locks 68 which is formed respectively at the distal ends of the lock arms 66, to displace the distal end portions of the lock arms 66 toward the housing 91 of the female connector 90 (that is, downwardly in the drawings). Therefore, the distal ends of the housing locks 68 are engaged respectively with the retaining portions 77 of the second slide member 76, so that the second slide member 76 can not slide together with the first slide member 71.
Then, when the fitting operation further proceeds, the first slide member 71 is pressed by the pressing rib 92, and therefore is moved rearwardly. At this time, the engagement arm portions 78 (see FIG. 10) of the second slide member 76 are moved respectively into the slide grooves 72 (see FIG. 10) formed respectively in the opposite side portions of the first slide member 71. Thus, the first slide member 71 is moved while the second slide member 76 is held against movement, and as a result the compression springs 83, received in the second slide member 76, are compressed to produce restoring forces tending to resiliently restore them into their original condition.
If the fitting operation is stopped in a half-fitted condition in which the housing locks 68 of the male connector 60 are not completely engaged with the engagement projections 93 of the female connector 90, respectively, the first slide member 71 is pushed back in a disengaging direction (opposite to the fitting direction) by the restoring force of the compression springs 83. As a result, the female connector 90 is pushed back through the pressing rib 92, abutted against the abutment portion 75 of the first slide member 71, and therefore the half-fitted condition can be prevented.
Then, when the fitting operation is further continued against the repulsive force of the compression springs 83, the engagement projections 93 of the female connector 90 slide respectively over the housing locks 68, formed respectively at the distal ends of the lock arms 66, so that the lock arms 66 are resiliently restored, as shown in FIG. 13. As a result, the engagement of the distal end of each housing lock 68 with the associated retaining portion 77 at the distal end of the second slide member 76 is canceled, so that the housing lock 68 is engaged with the rear end of the associated engagement projection 93. Therefore, the male connector 60 and the female connector 90 are completely fitted together, so that contacts 64 in the male connector are completely electrically contacted respectively with contacts 95 in the female connector.
For canceling the above completely-fitted condition, while holding the operating portion 79 of the second slide member 76 with the finger or other, the second slide member 76 is moved forward against the restoring force of the compression springs 83 into such a position that the operating portion 79 overlies the exposed pressing portion 69 of the lock arms 66, as shown in FIG. 14. Then, when the operating portion 79 is pressed down, the pressing portion 69 is pressed downward, so that the lock arms 66 are displaced downward, and therefore the engagement of the housing locks 68 with the respective engagement projections 93 is canceled. At this time, the slide member 71 is pushed back forward by the restoring force of the compressed compression springs 83.
As a result, the female connector 90 is pushed back in the disengaging direction through the pressing rib 92 of the female connector 90 abutted against the abutment portion 75 of the first slide member 71. Therefore, the disengaging force, required for disengaging the connectors from each other, can be reduced, and the disengaging operation can be enhanced.
In the above general connector fitting structure 51, however, when the mounting of the slider 70 is completed, the compression springs 83 produce slight restoring forces. Therefore, when the male connector 60, having the slider mounted thereon, is transported, the engagement arm portions 78 can be disengaged from the engagement surfaces of the stopper arm portions 73 because of vibrations and so on developing during the transport, and also the rear end surface of the second slide member 76 can be disengaged from the retaining projections 67a of the retaining arms 67.
Therefore, before the fitting operation is effected, the first slide member 71 is withdrawn and dropped, and also the second slide member 76 is moved toward the rear end of the outer housing 61, so that the retaining portions 77 underlie the housing locks 68, respectively, which invites a problem that the lock arms 66 can not be flexed during the fitting operation.
In the above general connector fitting structure 51, however, for canceling the fitted condition, while holding the operating portion 79 of the second slide member 76 with the finger or other, the second slide member 76 must be moved forward against the restoring force of the compression springs 83 into such a position that the operating portion 79 overlies the exposed pressing portion 69 of the lock arms 66, and then the operating portion 79 must be pressed down, as described above. Therefore, there has been encountered a problem that the operability is poor.
And besides, the operating portion 79 is pressed down while pushing the second slide member 76 with a large force against the restoring force of the compression springs 83, and therefore there is a possibility that the unduly-large pressing force is applied to this operating portion. In such a case, the lock arms are excessively displaced, which in some times, invites a problem that the lock arms 66 are damaged.
With the above problems in view, it is an object of this invention to provide a connector fitting structure in which a half-fitted condition can be positively detected during a fitting operation of a pair of female and male connectors, and also ensures easy operation the fitting procedure.
The problems to be overcome by the present invention can be solved by the following constructions (1) to (3):
(1) A connector fitting structure including:
A pair of female and male connectors connected together;
one of said connector including an inner housing and an outer housing, said outer housing covering said inner housing, a lock arm provided on the front end of said inner housing;
a slide member movably mounted on said outer housing, said slide member including first and second slide member, and a resilient member, said first slide member slidable with respect to said outer housing in fitting direction, said second slide member engaged with a rear end of said first slide member, said resilient member positioned between said first and second slide members to urge said first and second slide members away from each other;
the other of said connector provided with a pressing rib which abuts against said slide member, and an engagement projection, which flexes said lock arm and engages with said lock arm, provided on said pressing rib;
a first elastically engagement arm provided at said second slide member, engageable with a first engagement portion which is provided at an inner surface of said outer housing;
a second elastically engagement arm provided at said second slide member, engageable with a second engagement portion which is provided at an upper surface of said inner housing;
a slide groove provided at said first slide member; and
wherein said slide groove cancels the engaged condition of said first engagement arm and said first engagement portion, and a distal end of the other connector housing cancels the engaged condition of said second engagement arm and said second engagement portion at a time of said first slide member moving toward said second slide member.
(2) A retaining portion, for preventing a downward displacement of said lock arm, is provided at the front end of said second slide member.
(3) an auxiliary retaining surface provided at said first slide member;
an auxiliary retaining arm shaped flat plate and provided at said second slide arm; and
wherein said auxiliary retaining arm is retained by an auxiliary retaining surface.
In the connector fitting structure of the above construction, the second slide member includes the first engagement arms of an elastic nature, which can be engaged respectively with the first engagement portions formed on the inner surface of the outer housing of the one connector. Therefore, the housing of the other connector is fitted in the one connector, and the engagement projections of the other connector depress the housing locks, respectively, and thereafter unless the distal end portions of the first engagement arms are caused to escape into the slide groove, the first engagement arms will not be disengaged from the first engagement portions, respectively.
Therefore, before the housing locks are pressed down, the second slide member will not be accidentally moved rearward by vibrations and so on, and therefore there will not be encountered a situation in which the fitting operation of the female and male connectors can not be effected, and therefore the reliability of the female and male connectors can be enhanced.
The second slide member also includes the second engagement arm of an elastic nature which can be engaged with the second engagement portion formed on the outer housing of the one connector. Therefore, until the second engagement arm is disengaged from the second engagement portion by the front end of the housing of the other connector, that is, until the time immediately before the housing locks are engaged respectively with the engagement projections of the other connector, the engaged condition of the second slide member will not be canceled.
Therefore, the resilient force of the resilient member is kept strong until the time immediately before the completely-fitted condition is achieved, and therefore if the fitting force is weakened in a half-fitted condition, the other connector can be positively disengaged from the one connector with a large force, and therefore the reliability of the male and female connectors can be further enhanced.
The second slide member has the retaining portions which are formed at the front end thereof, and can prevent the downward displacement of the housing locks, and the slanting surface, which is slanting downwardly rearwardly, is formed on the rear end surface of each of the retaining portions. Therefore, each housing lock smoothly slides upwardly on the rear end surface of the retaining portion with the large resilient force of the resilient member, and is brought into engagement with the engagement projection of the other connector.
Therefore, the completely-fitted condition can be positively achieved with the relatively small fitting force, and therefore the reliability of the female and male connectors can be further enhanced.
The second slide member includes the flat plate-like auxiliary retaining arms which can be retained respectively by the auxiliary retaining surfaces of the first slide member. Therefore, the second slide member can be engaged with the first slide member in a stable manner, and will not be disengaged from the first slide member by vibrations and so on, and the reliability of the slider can be enhanced.
With the above problems in view, it is an object of this invention to provide a connector fitting structure in which a half-fitted condition can be positively detected during a fitting operation of a pair of female and male connectors, and besides a fitting connection-canceling operation is easy.
The problems to be overcome by the present invention can be solved by a connector fitting structure described in the following Paragraphs (4) and (5):
(4) A connector fitting structure comprising:
a pair of female and male connectors connected together;
one of said connector including an inner housing and an outer housing, said outer housing covering said inner housing, a lock arm provided on the front end of said inner housing;
a slide member movably mounted on said outer housing, said slide member including first and second slide members, and a resilient member, said first slide member slidable with respect to said outer housing in fitting direction, said second slide member engaged with the rear end of said first slide member, said resilient member positioned between said first and second slide members to urge said first and second slide members away from each other; member engaged with the rear end of said first slide member, said resilient member positioned between said first and second slide members to urge said first and second slide members away from each other;
the other of said connector provided with a pressing rib which abuts against said slide member, and an engagement projection, which flexes said lock arm and engages with said lock arm, provided on said pressing rib; and
a disengagement prevention portion provided at upper portion of said second slide member, for canceling an engagement with said lock arm and said engagement projection;
wherein said engagement is canceled by which said lock arm is deformed downwardly by abutting against said disengagement prevention portion.
(5) In the connector fitting structure, preferably, an engagement arm provided at said second slide member, and engageable with an engagement portion which is provided at the inner surface of said outer housing; and
a slide groove provided at said first slide member;
wherein said engagement arm is accommodated in said slide groove by moving said second slide member forward at the time of canceling said engagement.
In the connector fitting structure of the above construction, the second slide member includes the first engagement arms of an elastic nature, which can be engaged respectively with the first engagement portions formed on the inner surface of the outer housing of the one connector. Therefore, the housing of the other connector is fitted in the one connector, and the engagement projections of the other connector depress the housing locks, respectively, and thereafter unless the distal end portions of the first engagement arms are caused to escape into the slide groove, the first engagement arms will not be disengaged from the first engagement portions, respectively.
The cancellation projection is formed on the lower surface of the front end of the disengagement prevention portion (of the second slide member) which is operated when canceling the fitting connection. Therefore, when canceling the fitted condition of the female and male connectors, it is only necessary to push the second slide member forward directly or through the disengagement prevention portion, and therefore the operation, required for canceling the fitted condition, is easy, and the efficiency of the operation can be enhanced.
And besides, the amount of flexing of the lock arms is determined by the vertical dimensions of the cancellation projection and pressing portion, and therefore the lock arms will not be excessively displaced, and hence will not be damaged, and the durability of the female and male connector can be enhanced.
The second slide member has the first engagement arms engageable respectively with the first engagement portions formed on the inner surface of the outer housing, and when the second slide member is moved forward for canceling the fitting connection, the first engagement arms are caused to escape into the slide groove formed in the first slide member. Therefore, the engagement of the housing locks of the lock arms with the respective engagement projections of the other connector can be canceled with a relatively-small pushing force. Therefore, the efficiency of the operation, required for canceling the fitted condition of the female and male connectors, can be further enhanced.